Act of Social Rejection Hurts Both the Victim and the Doer

Share

A new study reveals that people who disregard and shun others are inflicted with as much pain as the victim.

Act of Social Rejection Hurts Both the Victim and the Doer

Advertisement

It is human nature to be empathetic and avoid hurting others unless felt threatened.
Nicole Legate, a graduate student at University of Rochester along with her colleagues studied the psychological consequences faced when one is forced to comply with demands such as excluding people based on social stigmas.

Advertisement

Researchers set up an experiment with the help of an online throw-catch ball game, Cyberball, in which each participant throws the ball to two other players. The participants were made to believe that they were playing with two other real people offsite, while the two players were actually virtual computer programs.

The study involved 152 participants randomly assigned to different game scenarios. The ostracizer group was instructed not to throw the ball to a certain player, while the compliance group was asked to throw the ball equally to both players. Another set of participants were ostracized and were excluded by the computer players.

The psychological conditions of the participants were evaluated using a survey. The results showed that people who were disregarded in the game, though by some stranger, felt depressed and angry. While the participants who were forced to ostracize also had negative moods with a sense of guilt, shame and they felt socially detached.

"Our results highlight that it goes against the grain of people's psychological needs to exclude others," says Ryan, co-author of the study.

The authors suggest further probe into the dynamics of ostracism and its consequences.

Your comments are automatically posted once they are submitted. All comments are however constantly reviewed for spam and irrelevant material (such as product or personal advertisements, email addresses, telephone numbers and website address). Such insertions do not conform to our policy and 'Terms of Use' and are either deleted or edited and republished.Please keep your comments brief and relevant.This section may also have questions seeking help. If you have the information you are welcome to respond, but please ensure that the information so provided is genuine and not misleading.

Disclaimer - All information and content on this site are for information and educational purposes only. The information should not be used for either diagnosis or treatment or both for any health related problem or disease. Always seek the advice of a qualified physician for medical diagnosis and treatment.Full Disclaimer